Recommended Light Fixtures

How to choose a good lighting fixture?

Follow these 5 principles of good lighting to guide your choice

1) Assessing the need :

Is it really necessary to light? Often we underestimate our ability to see outside at night. In addition, it is not established that more light discourages crime. Several case studies even go in the opposite direction! Moreover, we must remember that outdoor lighting is a non-negligible electricity expenditure.

2) Adjust orientation

Go for luminaires with a luminous flux directed towards the surface that needs to be illuminated. Remember that light emitted upward does not help and that light emitted toward the horizon contributes to glare. Luminaires that use more effectively their light give more energy savings and reduce skyglow.

3) Reduce intensity

Choose light fixtures producing a uniform illumination with an intensity that is not excessive. This allows the eye to adapt to the ambient light while providing the required visibility and security. Reducing the intensity greatly reduces light pollution caused by the reflection on the ground which is even more important in winter.

4) Control time

The timing and duration lighting use is another thing to consider. Installing a timer, a motion detector, or the simple act of turning off the lights when going to bed, the idea is to use lighting when needed. There are also smart devices for LED road lighting that control the intensity depending on the time.

5) Limit blue light

Try to use amber/yellow light sources instead of white. The blue part of the white spectrum is the worst for the sky glow and the human health because. Moreover, an amber light attracts fewer insect, resulting in an ecological benefit and less inconvenience.

Exemples of bad fixtures and good replacements

Recommended LED luminaires

With the massive arrival of LED on the lighting market, new challenges are emerging linked to light pollution control. Indeed, a major part of these luminaires are equipped with LED, emitting a very white light and consequently, a large proportion of blue light. Not only does blue light multiply sky glow due to larger diffusion than other colours, but it has also been shown that nocturnal blue light may have different negative impacts on health due to the biological clock disturbance it creates.

The Mont-Megantic International Dark-Sky Reserve recommends the use of dark sky friendly fixtures with a reduced amount of blue light to also protect the night, human health and the environment.

To be on the recommended this list, light fixtures need to be full cut-off/fully shielded/U0 and emit less than 10% of blue light (between 405 ant 530nm). We invite manufacturers to submit your light fixtures that meet those criteria to be added to the growing list of companies caring for good night friendly lighting.

To get the benefits of LED lights white limiting negative impacts on the dark sky and health, here are some luminaires that can be equipped with PC-amber LED (1800K), Amber LED, mix of warm-white + amber LED and/or optical filters in order to limit the amount of blue light emitted, thus meeting standards of Mont-Mégantic International Dark Sky Reserve.

To help in the development of night friendly luminaires, we encourage you to talk about those with your electrician/seller/distributor.